Issues
by Darklight8121
Summary: A few days before her wedding, Mikaela discovers that the newest Autobot has Issues with things that go 'Boom'.
1. Chapter 1

Issues

Darklight8121

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be mine.

A.N. :This bunny hit with the added punch of a freight train. I thought those things couldn't get licenses. Ouch.

* * *

Wheeljack sat comfortably in his lab floor. There were examination tables, stools, chairs and other surfaces that he could sit on but the floor just seemed to help conduct his train of thought.

Mikaela was wandering around his lab freely. Examining things here, sticking her hands into that there. Hmm, she could get hurt doing that.

"Mikaela? Please do not put your hands into those devices. Some contain fluids and elements that could easily eat the flesh from your body. I do not relish the thought of explaining that to Ratchet."

Blue eyes flash from across his lab in a mock glare but the young woman listened to him. It was a miracle that she had not taken up with the medic. The girl could take apart and put mechanical things back together with ease but she had turned down the opportunity to learn full Cybertronian Medicine. Instead, she had taken a job at a motorcycle shop and tried to go back to her real life.

Unfortunately, that plan had backfired with the arrival of the Fallen and the chaos that had ensued. As Sam's spark mate she had been brought to Diego Garcia for further protection along with Sam's parents.

Yet she still turned down offers from the military to learn… Ahhhh. That was it, wasn't it? The offers were from the military and not from Ratchet. "Mikaela?" he asked quietly

"Hmmmm?" She hummed back at him. Her attention was on one of his more unstable pieces of work. Thankfully she was abiding by his 'No touching' rule.

"Why didn't you take up lessons with Ratchet or the military?" At his query she froze. Her face neutral but her heartbeat gave away her trepidation. Though not as much as it would have. Lennox must be teaching her to control her body.

"Ratchet didn't ask me." She replied stiffly. She turned fully towards him. He was sitting with one knee bent upwards and an arm resting on top of it. His other leg was bent inwards towards his body. It was such a human pose that she couldn't help but smile at him. So human-like despite his alien appearance.

Seven fingers on his right hand, six on his left. Face covered by a heavy shield mask constantly. But it didn't matter. His eyes told all she needed to know about his state of mind. She thought about the phrase 'The eyes are the windows into a person's soul.' It was true with him.

Now they were soft with a certain understanding in them. "And the military?" he asked.

She took a deep breath and turned away from him. "It doesn't feel right with me. You know since… well, you know."

And know, he did. Unsurprisingly, Ratchet had been incredibly fussy about who he had as his students and had taken time and care in who he taught. The humans, on the other hand, had simply taken their newfound knowledge and in turn taught others. Ratchet had been furious and had refused to teach anyone else when he had found out. However, the damage had already been done. Those who he had taught had been given sixty three percent of training before Ratchet and Prime had shut down the project; and (as with dealing with humans the Autobots had discovered) what they didn't know they were incredibly apt to figure out on their own.

Thankfully, Ratchet had not taught any of the humans anything to do with repairing weapons. Prime had been particularly insistent on that point. With good reason, as the 'Bots knew now.

It hadn't really been the human students fault really. When faced with a court-martial and a dishonorable discharge and possible treason, the men and women had no choice but to give up all knowledge that had been entrusted to them. The situation had put everyone in an uncomfortable position. Prime had not faulted the soldiers for following orders but had to remain firm in his reprimand. Lennox had been embarrassed and furious by the power play that had cut both himself and General Morshower out of the equation yet still put them in the path of the diplomatic disaster.

Wheeljack wondered what Mikarela thought of the military. Her words and actions spoke of disapproval but here she was, on a military base out in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Surrounded by military people, protocol and everything. He also knew he would never ask.

"Wheeljack? What will you guys do about Major Lennox? He's really not going to be replaced is he?"

From what Wheeljack had learned Lennox was still in hot water for tricking Liaison Galloway out of a plane and ignoring a direct order from an official. This incident with Ratchet had simply put Lennox in further trouble and was quickly becoming obvious that he would most likely be replaced with someone more apt to following orders from outside sources.

In private, Lennox had already asked Optimus Prime if he could offer any amnesty from the Cybertronian Government if things came to a head. Prime hadn't promised anything but had stated he would do all that he could for Will Lennox.

"Major Lennox is a grown man and fully capable of caring for himself." Wheeljack started but paused. Mikaela had stiffened and turned further away from him. Possibly insulted? "But he is a very valuable asset… and a good friend. Galloway is messing with the wrong human. I can assure you of that."

Ironhide and Wheeljack had both agreed that if the Major wished it they would ensure no one would touch him until Prime had exhausted all avenues of diplomacy. Then they would badger the hell out of Prime until Lennox was claimed as one of their own. The others had agreed on this issue. William Lennox had proven his loyalty to the Autobots on more than one occasion.

With this hidden message Mikaela had turned and smiled at him in understanding. She was an observant human. Clever and sharp. Though he would have to get used to her being so… emotive? Her thought processes were tied in closely with her emotions. It was taking some getting used to but he was slowly making headway. She also had no problem explaining things to him. His questions rarely put her off.

He was fond of this little human. She was all fire and snark. A little unsure and fearful at first but she was coming along nicely. He could understand why Bumblebee was so attached to his humans and their family units.

"Hey 'Jack? I just had a thought what if we…" Mikaela interrupted _his_ thoughts and began explaining her idea.

* * *

Later that evening, everyone heard the feminine squeal and masculine laughter that came from the beach where Sam and Mikaela had walked down to after dinner. Bumblebee had explained that Sam had wanted 'ambience' and had taken full advantage of the full moon and beaches to do so.

Wheeljack heard a groan from Ron Witwicky and an excited gasp from his wife.

"Oh! Yes! Now I have a wedding to plan!" the older woman cheered. Ron simply snorted and told his wife that the catering had best be better than the military base's food. The resulting slap had a few soldiers laughing and running at the same time.

* * *

Wheeljack and Mikaela were working in his lab once again. He had found that the mechanic was a bit of a natural at some of his work. It had been a few months since Sam's proposal and the young woman had continued her education with the inventor. Mikaela even understood some of his more complex theories. He had even begun teaching her basic field medical repairs. Nothing that she couldn't claim to have figured out on her own with her knowledge of mechanics. Normally she was brilliant in her work but today she seemed to be distracted.

This time Wheeljack was watching the young woman nervously wire the wrong parts together. Quickly before she could turn the device on, the inventor stepped up and pulled her back away from the device. The likelihood of it blowing up was not very high but given his track record he wasn't going to chance it.

"Now Mikaela, what is wrong with you today? You have been both distracted and riled. If you persist in this frame of mind then I will have to ask you to leave." The inventor joked. He was only half serious, he knew she needed her space but also knew that she needed to focus on her work.

He had begun his admonition before he had even set the young woman down. When he had finished speaking he was busily undoing her hard work. Incorrect work. But she had worked hard on it darn it!

Mikaela stood there for a few seconds watching the taller robot easily undo her work. For some reason his corrections today stung worse than usual. Indignation, anger, shame, fear, uncertainty, irritation and nervousness all collided within the brunette and the resulting headache led to her next act.

Wheeljack yelped in pain when a hammer hit his vocal indicators. Those units were multifunctional! Sensitive to heat, sound and light that served as an advanced set of 'eyes' and 'ears' as well as indicators for his speech; the units were super sensitive and that girl just hit one!

Turning he was just in time to see another tool flash before him then make contact right between his optics. He simply blinked at her, the force of her blow had nothing on Ratchet but the fact that she had hurled a weapon at him stung.

"What is wrong with me? What is wrong? Gee, I wonder. Lets see, I'm getting married in less than a week, I have to make sure my dress is fitted correctly, my bride's maids dresses are not in yet, the caterer is calling damn near daily to get that military clearance, the decorations are ugly as hell and I have to put up with it because Sam's parents are paying for them, flowers are damn near impossible to get on a remote island military base and those that can come have to be checked by customs and military officials, my guest list has been pared down to the bare minimum and I have been told I STILL have cut more people out of it and now I have a giant fucking robot telling me that if I make one more mistake I'm going to be kicked out of the one place that I am comfortable in. The one fraggin' place that I can relax and just enjoy myself and YOU decide you can't handle ME anymore? YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU CAN JUST GO AND SLAG YOURSELF! I CAN'T HANDLE YOU ANYMORE!"

With those final words Mikaela screeched and hurled a large wrench at a set of pipes running along the walls of his lab. With a BANG! it collided with one and fell to the floor. In the meantime Wheeljack had stared at the young woman as she ranted and then stalked off. Several minutes after she left he was still staring after her.

"Did I say something wrong?" he finally murmured.

* * *

Three days later Mikaela found herself wandering the base looking for her friend. Wheeljack had left her alone since her outburst and once Mikaela had a chance to cool off she realized that she had sorely abused her friend and needed to apologize.

The sun had set an hours ago and yet Mikaela found she couldn't just walk away from this. She really needed to apologize to Wheeljack. She had already visited the Autobot hanger and his lab. She had peeked into the Med-bay and subsequently been chased out by Ratchet and still hadn't found him.

Gnawing on her lower lip, Mikaela walked through the night. She knew he went on drives to clear out his processor. Only his type of driving would have him banned from normal roads. He preferred stunt driving to regular highway driving. Honestly she couldn't blame him. With his alt. form who would not want to take advantage of it?

As if he heard her thoughts, Wheeljack screeched into view. A Bugatti Veyron, black and midnight blue that Mikaela couldn't help but lust over, the mech had lucked out when he had scanned that automobile. The color didn't suit him but was gorgeous regardless.

He must have caught her on his scanners because he sat there on the deserted pavement idling quietly. The darkness had totally enveloped her but her form must have lit up his heat sensors like the fourth of July. She slowly made her way over towards him but when he charged her she froze. Racing towards her at well over a hundred miles an hour Wheeljack suddenly braked and spun sliding past by only a foot. Once behind her he dropped back out of gear and revved his engine.

Mikaela knew what this meant. It was a challenge of sorts. She wanted to talk then she would have to talk on his terms. Could she handle him? With a smile and a confident feeling Mikaela moved towards Wheeljack. He revved his engine and charged her again only to stop as fast as he started. He repeated this action until she reached him then started to jerk back away from her, refusing to let her in. Suddenly Wheeljack pulled away from her to go around the young woman. Before he was able to get past Mikaela threw all caution to the wind and jumped onto his hood and grabbed a hold.

Wheeljack revved again in warning but the young woman simply smiled and tightened her grip. He took off suddenly, accelerating sharply and Mikaela felt the rush of adrenaline and fear with the wind. Still, she held on trusting in his abilities. Just as quickly as he started he decelerated and popped open the drivers side door. Mikaela jumped off and slipped into the butter soft seats inside.

The door shut with a slam and the seatbelt clicked into place. Mikaela simply put her hands on the center console and the door handle, knowing better than to put her hands on the steering wheel. As expected Wheeljack raced forward into 140 mph before she had any time to process the move.

"I'm sorry Wheeljack. There is no excuse for the way I treated you. I'm sorry I threw that hammer at you."

The car went into a controlled tailspin that left them facing the way they had come. Gunning it again Wheeljack refused to answer. He headed towards the Autobot training grounds. Few humans could stand riding inside of an Autobot inside this course. Major Lennox and Sam were so far the only ones capable of riding with all of the Autobots and still function rationally fully and completely after completing the course. Sam didn't have the choice and Lennox loved the challenge.

Several minutes passed. As Wheeljack blasted through the obstacle course with speed and grace. Hitting insane speeds and dropping into dangerous curves with abandon. Mikaela held on and simply waited. Some time later Wheeljack stopped his insane stunt diving long enough to race through a tunnel course. The young woman took a deep breath and continued her apology.

"I may be getting married but that is no excuse for how I treated you. My actions and words were wrong. I am sorry."

With a rev of a powerful engine the Veyron slid to a stop and idled. Mikaela realized that they had completed the whole course in what was probably a record amount of time. Suddenly the car started shaking. After a few seconds Mikaela heard a strange warbling and choking sound from the engine and realized that Wheeljack was shaking with suppressed mirth. He was laughing!

With a frown Mikaela sat back in the seat and crossed her arms. "I don't see what is so funny."

With an explosion of mirth Wheeljack laughed long and loud. Finally he pulled himself together to speak. "Mikaela, I'm sorry I wasn't laughing at you. Well, I was but I wasn't… well… you see. Ah-ha, I'm not helping my case here am I?"

With a glare that had deepened with every word that he had spoken the young woman simply ground out a curt, "What do you think?"

The mech sent a gust of cool air through his vents in the approximation of a sigh. "I am sorry Mikaela. I was laughing because I had forgiven you as soon as you did it. You were-are stressed… as you proved with your words in the lab. I was also laughing because I just shattered Sideswipe's record with a human and he sent me a rather impolite message when I registered it in the training record log. Your anger is justified though."

Mikaela sat there for a few moments trying to hold onto her irritation but found that she couldn't, the emotion slipped through her fingers like water. She huffed in mock irritation and uncrossed her arms.

"So how badly did you break his record?" she asked a few moments later. With a happy rev he started his engine again and moved back towards the base all the while regaling her with tales of his driving skill. Soon the young woman was laughing again, relaxed and happy.

Looking up, Mikaela realized that he was taking her to the human barracks. "Wheeljack?"

"Yes, Mikaela?" he rumbled. The only other transformer that could do that better than him was Optimus. Wheeljack just had the deep but gentle voice for it. Ironhide just came off sounding pissed and Ratchet sounded condescending.

"I'm not really tired… can we go to your lab and work for a while. I need to wind down."

A few seconds passed before he replied. "Mikaela, you do realize that it is nearly dawn? I would not want you to lose any valuable…"

"Are you saying this outta real concern or are you just worried Ratchet will offline you when he sees me in you lab later on tomorrow? Asleep on a table covered up?" She crossed her arms again and glared at his dash. The seat beneath her vibrated. It was his way of showing irritation.

"I will have you know that I care very deeply about your health." She smiled when she caught the sound of him mumbling "And my own." But he turned around and headed towards his lab. She would be exhausted later but it would be worth it just to let go and relax. Totally worth it.

* * *

It was almost 0900 hours when the message blared across all of the Transformers open Comm.

_: LEVEL FIVE EMERGENCY!_ _ALL AUTOBOTS EMERGENCY GUARDIAN PROTOCOLS ADVI…:_

Before the message had even gotten half finished every Autobot was in motion. All were racing towards the humans closest to Wheeljack's lab. Ironhide was leaping cars and planes to get to Lennox. Optimus went into a baseball slide to cover block several government officials and slammed his hand around Galloway burying his fingers knuckle deep into the earth. Skids had launched himself at Simmons and Mudflap was balled up around Leo. Bumblebee was, of course, racing away with Sam as fast as his wheels could carry him.

**KABOOM!!!!**

Unfortunately there weren't enough Autobots to save everyone. Many died in the first explosion. The second killed many more.

**BOOM!!!**

The fiery explosions had sent shrapnel and other pieces of burning materials flying through the air. Ratchet had gotten as close as possible and had been able to shield Epps and a few new recruits from the blasts. His optics however were trained on what was left of the lab. Wheeljack hadn't finished his message and there was no locator beacon signal coming from inside the accident site. Had his friend survived?

**KAAAA-BOOM!!**

A third explosion rocked the island. Ironhide had been the closest to the site. Now he was up and staggering towards the others, Lennox and two others in his hands. The heat and concussive forces proving to be too much for the humans. He moved towards Optimus and handed over his human charges.

Prime looked up at his Weapons Officer in slight confusion. It was very strange for Ironhide to give up his charge at a time like this.

**BOOM!**

Another explosion rocked the ground beneath them. Ironhide went to one knee roaring in anger. "What in the Pit is causing all of these explosions?!" No one could answer him though as most were busy ducking and dodging more fiery shrapnel.

With a roar Ironhide turned towards the inferno and raced towards it. Optimus half stood bellowing after him. "Ironhide! Stand down! Ironhide! No! Ironhide STOP!"

Ironhide ignored the orders though and continued into chaos. Soon they lost sight of the older mech. Several minutes passed and everyone waited anxiously for him to return. The human fire trucks and emergency vehicles had rushed to the scene but they could do little but insure the fire didn't spread and pull survivors out of the fall out zone. Another smaller explosion sent the humans scurrying backwards.

Suddenly they all saw Ironhide race back towards them carrying something. He had… Primus it was what was left of Wheeljack! Ratchet raced forward scanning both mechs in disbelief. Ironhide had some parts that were on fire but he was already being hosed down by the humans. Wheeljack on the other hand…

The mech was blackened, no legs and his arms mostly gone. His head was in pieces but that was no real problem. Probably the engineer had backed up his memory files and personality core recently in a drive he kept stored in his Spark chamber and as far as he could tell the chamber hadn't been breached. Stupid inventor reinforcing his Spark chamber himself! Probably saved his life on more than one occasion though…

_:Jolt! If there isn't any more explosions I want your aft in the med bay now! … Belay that! I want you to go through every mech and insure they are not seriously injured. Starting with Optimus. And if he gives you any slag then I'm giving you Medical Override Code Falcon 465983-7123. Abuse it if necessary!:_

_:Sir, what about Ironhide?:_

_:Ironhide has to take what is left of that glitched up, virus infected, jury rigged, fragged up motherboard moron to the Med Bay. I can handle him. Now move!:_

Ratchet was already moving towards his Med bay. Ironhide right behind him. Tuning one audio towards the mech behind him he would have smiled at all the names Ironhide was coming up for Wheeljack if his situation wasn't so dire. True, every Energon line had been cauterized by the fire but he had to be stabilized and soon.

This day just got even longer.

* * *

_He had to make a decision on his actions. Many of them. Some were automatic, like the emergency comm. Others had to be activated. Backing up his memory and personality cores. Sending alerts to his nanites to relocate to his Spark Chamber for protection and to help facilitate healing around the chamber. But the main one had to do with the creature in his hands. _

_The organic creature had no chance of survival. If he continued to hold it then the femme would die a slower death. Certainly. Yet his processors told him of one possible way she would survive. But with an organic?_

_He would also be taking away everything she had if they survived. She had a Spark Mate and within solar cycles she would be going to their Bonding ceremony. He would be stealing all that from her. He could not give her the choice. He had to decide. A dangerous move that could kill them both. Better to let her die quickly than that. _

_He didn't want to die._

_As the flames erupted around them reaching temperatures that were already impossible to gauge the femme screamed in agony. Her coverings were on fire, her hair was beginning to melt and her eyes sought his optics. Fear. She was afraid and was looking to him for comfort. _

_Without even realizing it he found he had disengaged the locks in his chest and was opening his Spark Chamber. He had a reinforced Spark Chamber. Hopefully, that would be enough for them both._

_Darkness._

* * *

_Pain fear pain burning darkness agony fear excruciating someone fear hot pain hot pain black please no hot burning hot dark throbbing dark burning fear help someone please pain no no burning HELP fear darkness agony help help HELP PLEASE HELP!_

Suddenly it was gone. All of it. Where…? Did it matter? Pain was gone. No pain, no burning. Warm but comfortable. Cared for. The feeling of someone_(thing?) _embracing them. Caressing them. Touching intimately. All over, all around. All...inside?!? Someone was inside? How? Why? No! No! Nonononononono! Get out! No! Out! Not inside! I refuse!

_Pain_ _excruciating fear hot dark pain hot pain please no hot black burning hot throbbing burning fear NO! Please no! Help! _

_Reaching grasping begging screaming for that other. Make it go away. Come back. Yes. Yes. I take it back! I submit! I consent! NO! PLEASE! HELP!_

Warm, gentle. Apprehension. What? No. Should not be any fear here… good here. Safe here. Submit. I submit. I won't refuse you. Don't send me back please. Anything. Safe. Tickled. Something crawling on, around, inside of. Fine. Don't care. Touch how you want. No pain here. Something cradles them again. Inside again. Resists, then relaxes. Don't care. Better here. Who with?

'_Together.' _

Well yes. We are together but who are you? Who…who am I?

'_No matter. We are together. Always. Yes?'_

If I say no I will feel pain again, right? I said no before… and was hurt.

'_Cannot be together if we cannot BE together. Pain, death, darkness apart. Comfort, healing, safe together. Always. Yes?'_

Yes. Always.


	2. Chapter 2

Issues

Darklight8121

Disclaimer: Yeah if it were mine... you really don't wanna know.

A.N.: This one bugged me for a while. Please review! Criticisim is great as long as it is constructive! Help me make it better!

Ratchet sighed. He was, quiet simply, exhausted. He wasn't even sure what day it was. He had been working non-stop on Wheeljack. The thrice-damned inventor had survived the explosion and his spark had somehow come through unscathed, Primus blessed idiot.

However, the medic had yet to open his chest to see said spark. The metal had melted and fused together with the reinforcing walls of the chamber. Scans had revealed an active and safe spark even if it was giving off strange readings. There had been other pressing concerns. Besides, if he had cut open the Spark Chamber and seen that stupid idiot's spark bouncing around happily in his reinforced fortress he might have done something he would regret…eventually.

"Sir? Are you alright?" Jolt asked from the doorway. Ratchet glanced up at the younger mech and narrowed his optics.

"I though I gave you orders not to return here until you've had at least ten hours recharge." he growled. Jolt was unfazed as he moved into the bay. His blue optics taking in the scene with a single glance.

"Yes, sir. You did sir. Moreover, if you will check the time I have been gone for exactly ten and quarter hours. You have been working this whole time sir?" The last was less of a question than a statement. It was obvious that the medic had been working steadily away. Wheeljack's legs, while still detached, were nearly whole and ready for activation. His arms reattached to the torso, the wiring to the head replaced, and there were the beginnings of basic repair done to the inventor's facial plates.

Ratchet flickered his optics in surprise. Checking his internal chronometer, he found that Jolt had not lied, though he had never expected the younger mech to do so. He had spent a long time in here. Checking again, he realized he had been working for approximately two days. Shaking his head again, he gestured for the younger bot to get back to work.

Jolt moved over to the medical berth and started on getting monitors wired into the spark chamber. After being contained for so long after sustaining such extensive damage the spark could react badly to being exposed to any atmosphere. Though Ratchet had snorted saying that this was hardly the worst Wheeljack had ever been. He had survived much worse.

Survived.

Jolt unconsciously shot a little bolt of electricity zip around his frame, automatically keeping it away from the patient. It was a habit of his when he was bothered by something and Ratchet had learned to tolerate it if not like it.

The human population on Diego Garcia was extremely upset. The explosion had killed seventeen people. Soldiers, officers, a few government officials, members of the fire/rescue team and a civilian had died. There was talk of banning Wheeljack from the NEST team. Others said he should not be given amnesty and exiled from the planet. Still others called for his arrest and trial for murder. Optimus had his hands full with politics and the investigation as to why the explosion had occurred wasn't even complete yet.

Jolt felt the need to express his condolences but was at a loss for what to say.

"I didn't know her very well, sir but… she seemed to be… honest. I'm sorry, I know you were friends." Jolt finally spoke up. Ratchet paused in his work. Looking up at his protégé, he nodded. Though the younger mech's words were clumsy, he understood his point.

"Mikaela was a strong woman. A fine femme that had an independent spirit. I think you would have like her, Jolt." Ratchet said simply.

Earlier yesterday after many of the fires had been put out the Autobots had ventured into the disaster site. They were looking for answers as to why the lab had gone up as it had. Optimus had been the one to find the jacket (or what was left of it) under a heavy slab of concrete. It had inside the tattered remains of the jeans jacket was a large amount of organic matter. A DNA scan revealed that it had belonged to Mikaela. The amount of cooked and burnt matter was proof enough that Mikaela had worn it when the explosion occurred. The chance of survival was zero.

It had been Optimus who had broke the news to Sam. The young man had not reacted well to the news at all. Collapsing on the spot and refusing to speak to anyone. Sam was currently under careful observation at the human hospital. The other Autobots had a remembrance gathering planned soon.

Another two hours passed before Jolt ventured to speak again. "Sir…" He paused unsure how to continue with the grumpy medic.

"What?" snapped Ratchet, noticeably grouchier.

Jolt vented heavily and put down his tools. He turned to face Ratchet fully. "You need to recharge, sir. You have been awake for a minimum of 48 hours and more than likely longer than that. Go recharge sir. A minimum of 8 hours."

A disdainful sound came from the medic. Close to what a human would call a snort. "Are you giving me an order Jolt?"

For a few clicks Jolt was silent. Ratchet turned back to his work but stopped by the next words that came from the blue bot's vocalizer. "If it is necessary, then yes I am."

Incredulously Ratchet looked up at Jolt. The mech was standing firmly, his optics were sharp and unwavering. "And by what authority do you presume to order me around, soldier?" Ratchet shot back at him.

"You are tired sir. Exhausted even. You could endanger yourself and others. If necessary, I will contact Optimus Prime. You hold the power to veto him in medical matters but he can override you when you are neglecting you duties to yourself and by proxy the Autobot Army. I'd really rather not contact him, sir."

Both bots stood at a stand still, the face off continuing for several tense moments.

Suddenly Ratchet laughed tiredly. "I suppose I have taught you too well… All right, I'll go recharge, on one condition; I want to see this glitch's spark. Get a decent reading off it. We are ready to cut into his chest now. I get that reading, make sure it is stable and I'll leave you to deal with the rest of this slag."

Ratchet chuckled again and smiled wickedly. "Even better, you get to deal with any emergencies that pop up. And trust me there be at least one."

Jolt considered his options. What Ratchet was asking for would only take twenty maybe thirty minutes. An hour at worst, if the chamber was truly as reinforced as Ratchet said it was. Then he could send the medic away for much a needed rest.

A quick nod was Ratchet's reply and within moments they were cutting at Wheeljack's chest. It was a difficult endeavor but soon they had begun to make headway. Light oozed out of the cut. Slowly, the two medics sliced their way into Wheeljack's spark chamber.

With a hiss of compressed air, they breached the final barrier and pulled the section of armor away from the body cavity. Ratchet set aside the reinforced plate with a frown. The outer armor was completely fused to the spark chamber. This meant he would have to build a new upper body and spark chamber for Wheeljack. To fuse together like that the heat had to have been intense.

Turning he vented heavily and began running a diagnostic. Almost immediately, there were alerts, warnings and alarms.

What in the Pit was in Wheeljack's spark?!

Another diagnostic sent him reeling. Organic matter? What in the Pit were the inventors nanites doing suspended in a, Primus what was it? …A viscous liquid that surrounded the organic. The…goo shifted and pulsed inside the spark plasma. Fraggit! Who cares what it is, it just needed to come out!

"Jolt, be ready to administer a reviving shock to the spark. I'm taking…it…out. Monitor his spark activity!" The blue bot had frozen upon seeing the strange scene before him. Nothing he had ever witnessed or read about could explain this phenomenon. Ratchet's sharp orders snapped him out of his daze.

Seconds passed as Ratchet reached into the pulsing spark. With some difficulty, he finally touched the foreign object. It was as if the spark itself was endeavoring to protect the invading matter. Another tense moment when the spark flared in rejection of Ratchet's help.

Swearing heavily and loudly the older medic improvised. "Jolt…if you ever tell anyone about this I will remove your electro-whips and reprogram them to refit themselves on your form in ways only Soundwave could imagine. Are we clear?"

"Crystal, sir." Jolt replied surprised. Ratchet nodded and leaned towards the prone form of his friend and opened his chest and pulsed his spark. In a matter of seconds the inventor's spark pulse in reply. Jolt stared in amazement. Ratchet was using a Spark Call to calm the other mech's spark! He had only heard of this in theory and it could only work with those who were extremely close.

After several moments in which the sparks pulsed back and forth, Ratchet was able to reach into the spark again. This time he had no trouble grasping the intruding matter and slowly pulled it out. All the while, the medic pulsed his spark almost reassuringly.

As soon as the sack of gelatinous liquid completely cleared the spark, it burst. Nanites swarmed back to their host and began to reintegrate themselves into Wheeljack's systems. Meantime Ratchet was left staring dumfounded at the tiny form in the palm of his hand.

Slick dark hair, skin pink as if it covered a newly formed human sparkling, curled up tightly in a fetus position was Mikaela. Alive.


	3. Chapter 3

Issues

Darklight8121

Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be.

A.N.: Am I the only person who thinks Lennox is just RAWR?! Don't get me wrong, so is Starscream, Optimus, Jazz etc., etc. But come on! The guy is HAWT! (le sigh)

Enjoy and please review if only to tell me my mistakes!!

* * *

Major William Lennox sighed heavily. He was currently in his office, taking a break from being bitched at by some higher up. He wasn't exactly sure how the higher ups, government officials, auditors (oh goody) and safety engineers had decided that he was at fault for the explosion but it was painfully obvious that they had.

Never mind the fact he had been following orders to put the inventor in the oldest hanger. Forget that so far the investigation was pointing to a gas leak. Skip the idea that Galloway wanted his head on a platter. Oh no. Will Lennox was officially a screw up and incompetent fool. All he was good for was picking up a gun, rocket launcher, or whatever and firing it. Canon fodder.

At least that was the consensus. General Morshower was an excellent commander and had reassured Lennox that he would do all he could to take the heat off his shoulders. Problem was if the guy was taking heat off his shoulders then the temperature was somewhere up near the sun's surface temperature.

Therefore, he hid in his office. He felt cowardly but Lennox knew he had to have a break. A man could only handle so much before he hurt someone. Besides, he really needed to catch up on his paper work. Last thing he needed was for the lynching mob to find out he was behind on it.

Knock knock knock.

Of course, it never ended.

"Come in."

Robert Epps popped his head into the office. With a glance, he took in the scene. Lennox sitting behind his desk, pen in hand, paper work stacked beside him. His blue eyes appeared strained, tension was radiating from his body, and the smile on his face was nowhere near his eyes.

With all of the professional air he could muster, Chief Master Sergeant Epps announced that the governmental liaison Galloway wished to speak with Lennox as soon as possible. Epps wasn't a mind reader but when Lennox closed his eyes and breathed deeply fore a few moments he knew that the other man was at the end of his rope.

Epps made a snap decision and walked into the office. He gathered up some of the paper work on the desk. "I'll just go over this stuff, make sure it checks out and turn it in for you." He made sure to grab the blank paper work and accompanying reports.

Lennox watched with a wan smile and something in his face softened. "I appreciate that Epps. Tell Galloway that I will be there within the hour. "

With a sharp nod, Epps stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him. It was high time he ran a little interference for Lennox.

* * *

"Major Mitchell! Sir!"

Major Cornelius Patrick Mitchell was a very unfriendly man. As Chief Surgeon in the Diego Garcia hospital, he saw no reason to make friends or play nice with others. Ever. Unmarried and childless his life was his work.

His work recently begun to include aliens from another planet. Every time someone was brought under his knife now it was because of these beings.

Major Mitchell hated this place.

Sergeant Duggar was still calling his name. Duggar was a lab tech and rarely spoke with Mitchell unless necessary. Though there was one thing they shared.

Hatred for the job they were assigned to do.

A small commonality in the face of so little else but it served the purpose of each man. Mitchell had vowed to get off the little island with aliens, without harming or hurting any of the people under his care. He was cold not ruthless.

If he could get off this little piece of hell then he could pull Sergeant Duggar along with him within a few months. It was a simple matter of suggestion, recommendation and exploitation of weaknesses.

He had his ticket; he just had to pay for it, as it were. A governmental liaison named Galloway had made a deal with the Major. Soldiers came to his surgery rooms often enough from the battlefield. It was not entirely a secret that many had 'upgraded' weapons from the Autobots. Among other technologically advanced devices. If the surgeon could get his hands on one then he had a free ticket off this island and straight to D.C. area hospital.

Unfortunately, the other soldiers had stripped the wounded of all of these items before he saw them.

"Major Mitchell. Sir. I think you might want this." Duggar murmured before handing the smaller man a file. A sharp look and a heavy sigh came from the surgeon. Duggar had been desperate to get off the island and had been feeding Mitchell lots of reports before they went on to other doctors hoping that an abnormality in the lab work would yield a breakthrough.

So far, it had been a waste of time.

Mitchell flipped open the folder and skimmed the results. Suddenly he stopped. Re-reading the results. He glanced up at the younger man in shock before looking down again and reading the report again.

"Impossible."

Another look at the man revealed the Sergeant's smile. "I've checked them multiple times sir. No contaminates in the test and I even went back and drew more blood samples myself just to be sure. Every time the same thing. I came to you first."

"Is there anyone else in the lab with you tonight?" the Major asked starting down the hall again.

"Just Perez, sir. And she can't get into my workstation with it locked closed and the samples are in my locked fridge. All paperwork on previous tests has been shredded and nothing has been saved into my computer log. Everything is paperwork."

"Keep it that way. Start on something else. I need to make a phone call." Mitchell headed towards his office.

Sergeant Duggar stopped in the hall for a moment, letting a crooked grin cross his features before turning back towards the elevator. Now he just had to play it out and whatever trouble he was in hopes it wouldn't ruin his chances of leaving.

* * *

Galloway fancied that he looked like a fat stuffed cat in a pet store bird display. Even his aides were grinning in response to his phone call.

Finally!

Something to work with. It wasn't weapons but it was the next best thing! Those robots had kept all of their technology to themselves for so long it was high time the U.S. government got something out of this alliance other than dead bodies and bills from other countries!

He turned to Stewart, one of his best aides, "Contact Drs. Toubeauro, Li, and Reicht. Tell them I have something for them to study but only under my conditions. We'll call them back to give them a rendezvous point where they can examine the specimen themselves. If that doesn't get their curiosity up nothing will!"

"Yes sir" murmured the aide. Galloway smiled happily; things were finally going his way!


	4. Chapter 4

Issues

Darklight8121

Disclaimer: Really? Mine Ohhhhhh thank you!!!!! Wha...? whatdaya mean it's joke! Asshole. Not mine.

A.N. Anybody ever have 'writers block?' I know I get it! Well I have a wonderful little work sheet made up by antepathy (who's job it is to put up with whiny little college kids, that I once was.) It helps. Really. Please review and let me know where I screwed up at!

* * *

Blech.

This day could not get any worse. He had been up until two a.m. this morning studying his freaking European History exam. Only to Rise and Fracking Shine at a happy 5:45 in the bloody morn. Just so he could run around the base fifty freaking times and heave his breakfast up _through his nose_ and then after the obligatory clean up he had to head BACK to the computer lab to take the frackin' history test for four hours!

Again, blech.

Seriously, if he had to be part of the P.E. why couldn't he have had an elective? Like… belly dancing? Or racket ball? Volleyball? But noooooo… the military had to step in and assure his class advisors that they would handle his 'Physical Training.' Freaking yay. Why couldn't they just let him do it via computer too? Please?

Grumbling, Sam headed towards his billet to change shirts and get a few books. He debated on what he would read to Mikaela today. She had been unconscious for two weeks now and research showed that coma patients tended to recuperate better when they had a stimulus going. He had already read her Bare Bones by some southern doctor chick and had finished Shadowfall by James Clemens. His reading material was at best eclectic and weird but she loved him so was probably putting up with his weird choices in books just to make him happy.

When he had been told she was alive, he had barely believed it. It wasn't until Bumblebee came for him and using the radio told Sam himself through the window. It had taken way to long to get discharged from the Psych. Ward of the hospital and had climbed out of said window and inched along the outer wall till 'Bee saw him and started buzzing and squawking at him in anger.

Ehhhh… what was a fall from four stories up when he had been shot and killed by Megatron and chased by the selfsame megalomaniac... what? Twice now?

'Bee had pulled him down and lectured him in a variety of voices that left the young man feeling both chastised and amused. Then the yellow bot had transformed and taken Sam around to the other side of the hospital to see his fiancé.

Forget favorite family members, 'Bee was just cool about the best stuff.

After being apprehended by security, watching Bumblebee get all-protective, Ironhide get loud and Optimus flustered; Sam had finally gotten in to see his girl. She had looked perfect. And apparently, that was the problem. The explosion had burned her severely; there was no question about that. She also was trapped in a pressure chamber for a couple of days that just happened to also contain a Spark that should have killed her instantaneously.

Instead, she was healthy, clean and surprisingly alive. Some things Sam had just learned to accept and go with it. Hard not to do when your freaking world turned on its ear since they were sixteen.

Accept it, go on, and be thankful for every day you had with your loved ones.

Once he arrived at the hospital, Sam passed the info desk with a wave. They knew him by now. He had been coming every day since she was allowed visitors. He headed towards the elevators but before he got there a shout caught his attention.

"Hey! Mr. Witwicky! Sam! "

Turning he saw another one of the help desk people trotting towards him. The black woman came up to the young man with an apologetic look.

"They didn't tell you, did they son?"

Immediately, he was on alert. "Tell me?! What? Tell me what?!"

"Calm down, calm down." the woman patted the air in a placating gesture. "It ain't nothing to worry about. They just transferred your lady out this morning. You'll have to speak with her doctor if you want more information."

"Transferred? Transferred where? Why?" before Sam could work himself up into a frenzy the woman patted the air again and shushed him.

"I have no idea. I saw you coming in the door and checked her availability for you in case a doctor was in there or she was out for tests. The computer just stated she had been transferred off the island around seven this morning."

Diego Garcia had the latest in technology and every patient had an availability schedule up for visitors unless it was one of the critical care patients. It was, according to Ron Witwicky, crazy that you had to 'have a freaking schedule just to piss.' While it wasn't that bad, it was rather creepy how things ran in the hospital.

Pressing his lips into a thin line Sam spun on his heels and headed towards the elevator. He was going to get answers.

* * *

Wheeljack onlined to the strangest sense of connection and sensation of movement. When his optics booted up he realized that he was lying on a berth in the…

Wham!!!

Yup. It was the medbay. He'd know that wrench to the head anywhere. He automatically cancelled his audio's reboot. His processor hurt enough he didn't need Ratchet's yelling to make it worse.

After cringing and wincing away at the appropriate times, he gauged the medic's temper visually. By the amount of time the other' bot was waving his wrench about Wheeljack knew he had screwed up royally. He dimmed his optics trying to access his last memories and encountered a firewall.

Ratchet's work.

Glancing up at the medic he saw that the yellow 'bot had crossed his arms and was watching him carefully. With a sheepish chuckle, he rebooted his audios and attempted to smile innocently.

"Of all of the things you have done Wheeljack, this incident has rather simply been your worst mistake ever. Prime is busy trying to ensure you won't be exiled from Earth or deactivated for murder." His tone of voice was void of all emotion.

The inventor stared in shock. Silence reigned in the medbay for a few clicks.

"Mur- murder? Exile? Ratch… what did I do? Ratch, you gotta tell me. At least let me see my own memories."

The medic's optics dimmed, communicating with someone, possibly Prime, about something. It took a surprisingly long time. While waiting Wheeljack became aware of the sensation of movement once more. As well as a sense of connection and loss.

Reaching up with a hand, he rubbed at his armor over his Spark chamber. He felt like a major part of him was gone yet all diagnostics showed he was whole. What was…?

"All right 'Jack. I just got the go ahead from Prime. Here we go. I'll be piggy backing along to ensure everything is alright." It was unsaid that the medic could subdue the inventor easily if they were already connected. That meant the memories were bad. Hands reaching up towards his medical ports in his neck, Wheeljack shut off his optics in preparation of viewing the memories.

Seconds later he onlined his optics in stunned shock and his ventilation expelled all air from his systems. Ratchet was already shutting his power down to standby. His only word was lost to the sounds of system shut down.

* * *

"How?" was Prime's only thought. His own processors were running full time trying to understand the situation.

Ratchet vented softly and lifted his hands in an 'I don't know' gesture. One he had picked up from the humans.

"I cannot tell you precisely what happened or really how it happened. I have a theory but nothing concrete. Wheeljack would be the best candidate to explain something like this but…" Optimus Prime nodded to the medic. Acknowledging the inventors expertise as well as noting his inability to add his input.

A flick of the Prime's hands encouraged the medic to continue.

"I'll start with the known facts. Wheeljack was becoming attached to the femme. What was left of his circuitry reveals that his Guardian programming was coming online in the time preceding the accident. Since she was the default ward of Bumblebee and you had not assigned him the task of guardianship the programs were only 28 percent active."

Prime settled back for a click, reviewing the interactions from months prior that he himself had had with both Mikaela and Wheeljack. Indeed, Wheeljack had begun displaying guardian tendencies. Ratchet shifted slightly catching Optimus's attention once more.

"According to Wheeljack's memories they did not go to his lab immediately after their training run on the course. They had gone driving to talk about personal matters regarding Mikaela's bonding ceremony. Shortly before 0900, they entered Wheeljack's hangar, upon exiting the interior of his alt. mode Mikaela noted the strong odor of rotten eggs. Wheeljack had not returned to his lab after his confrontation with Mikaela and had no prior notice of the smell. Believing the source of the odor to be spilled chemicals Wheeljack did not start an atmospheric analysis."

Ratchet frowned at this but continued. "For several minutes they spoke of the project they wished to work on before Mikaela complained of a headache and took an over the counter medicine. During this time, Wheeljack readied and lit his plasma torch. As you have already noted the smell of rotten eggs is a key signal for a gas leak in human homes. That precaution is here on the base as well. The heat and 'flame', as it were, from the torch ignited the gas into a silent flash explosion. Mikaela was caught in the flash. During the time between the flash explosion and the primary explosion, Wheeljack sent his message and began his memory and personality backup as well as seeking to protect the human femme. All examination of his logic relays reveal that his last decision was to allow the femme to die quickly rather than to roast her alive in his hands. Conversely, his emotion/guardian programs were running survival possibilities for the girl. It is unclear what their outcome was due to the extent of the damage."

Optimus Prime sat back on the crate he had confiscated as a chair of sorts, questions already plaguing his processor. Nodding again towards his friend to encourage him to continue.

Ratchet vented once more and pinched the bridge of his nasal ridges. He had an impression that this would not go down well at all. Looking up once more at his Prime, he nodded signaling his readiness.

"All Cybertronian have nanites. When a protoform comes online, they are a blank shell without nanites. As basic personality codes are uploaded into the processor from the spark, blank nanites are introduced into the Spark chamber for activation. When the nanites activate inside the protoform's Spark chamber, they imprint with their owners spark signal. They are only capable of working with the bot that they have imprinted upon."

Prime nodded his understanding. This was common knowledge to most Cybertronians but if Ratchet felt the need to reiterate this fact, he was by far the last to argue with him.

"Nanites do not have a finite number. As a bot ages and as injuries occur nanites are destroyed or sacrificed. To compensate for that nanites are capable of scavenging parts to create new nanites that imprint upon the spark energy from the bot. Sometimes nanites have been known to scavenge alien metals and parts to create new nanites. These alien elements are reconfigured to match our Cybertonian elements. Thus creating hybrid technology within our own bodies."

Prime blinked. Truly? Nanites were…evolving? That opened up a flood of questions that demanded answers. Shaking his head to clear the strange thoughts from his processor. Ratchet had halted his explanation, expecting Optimus's reaction. Seeing the massive bot focus on him again, he continued.

"Every Cybertronian is capable of basic communication with their nanites through maintenance requests, HUD alerts and re-routing orders. Some Cybertronians are capable of higher communication. Wheeljack is one such bot. He is capable of directly accessing his nanites and directing their movements with complex orders. They in turn are capable of asking questions as to what he wants or what they should do. Similar to using his internal comm. I believe Wheeljack realized the amount of danger he was in and ordered his nanites into his Spark chamber to protect his spark."

The medic vented heavily. "That is all I have in facts or scientific deductions. Everything I tell you from here on out will be pure guess work, sir."

"Go on ahead Ratchet. In this instance, your guesswork is all we have. I trust your judgment, you know this." Optimus replied simply.

"I mentioned earlier that Wheeljack was running survival tactics in his emotions/guardian program. I believe he concluded that he could store Mikaela safely in his Spark chamber as long as he ordered his nanites to protect her and to ensure her continued health. Once Mikaela was safely inside the chamber, his nanites swarmed her. Having previous access to human physiology, his nanites noted her injured state attempted to repair her damage. They were unable to due to the fact that she did not carry his spark signal."

The medic twitched uncomfortably. This is where things became truly vague.

"It is my belief that once cut off from Wheeljack's consciousness his nanites acted on his previous orders. To ensure her safety and health. The nanites simply remained in her body but exposed her to Wheeljack's spark radiation. Her body was too weakened by the injuries she sustained and was unable to resist. With her body flooded with his spark radiation the nanites were able to do repairs on her body by changing into something partially organic. Once their repairs were complete, they formed a protective gel sack to keep her safe. Wheeljack, while not conscious as we know it, was still aware; accepted the consciousness of the femme into his spark. This is what I believe happened due to what little facts I have present."

Silence reigned in the Autobot hanger. Though the entire conversation had occurred in their native language, the humans moving around were painfully aware of the tense silence from Optimus Prime. Ratchet was just glad the other Autobots had been ordered out of the hangar and told not to return until otherwise noted.

"Ratchet, are you saying that Wheeljack made the decision to Spark Bond with Mikaela? A human?" came the incredulous question from the massive red and blue bot.

Before Ratchet could reply, the sound of squealing tires echoed through the hangar as Bumblebee raced towards them. Coming to an abrupt halt the door to the Camaro flew open, revealing a furious Sam. The scout transformed with great haste as well.

"Optimus! Ratchet! She's gone and no one can tell me where they took her! They took her and didn't tell anybody! Unless you knew! Did you know? I can't believe they took her!"

"Sam! Sam, calm down. Took whom? Who is gone?" Ratchet started. He began running scans on the younger man, noting his elevated heart rate and blood pressure as well as his autonomic systems that dictated his fight or flight reactions. Something had the young man extremely upset.

Optimus stood then knelt close to the shaking man. "Sam, please calm down and tell us what has happened."

"Mikaela. She's gone. She's not in the hospital or anywhere on base. No one is telling me anything and you're telling me you didn't know about it?"

Looking up at his scout for further information Bumblebee warbled an upset sound. _**: I looked into the human logs. She was checked out of her room at 0645 this morning sir. Then at 0800 hours, she was listed as a transfer in the systems. A check of base aerial traffic shows that there are only incoming planes for the rest of the day, the only out bound flight was at 0730 and it was a transport for Liaison Galloway and other governmental officials. However, it did have medical transport capabilities.:**_

_**:What! I never received a notice about a transfer!: **_Ratchet screeched over the link. The yellow bot stepped back and began reviewing his incoming mail.

_**:It wasn't on the medical computer system. It was located in the general information logs.: **_Bumblebee replied_**.**_

_**: They sought to keep us from finding out about it before they moved her. I don't like this. Bumblebee, remain with Sam. Ratchet see what you can do to find out where they transported her. I will speak to Lennox.: **_Optimus replied curtly. Leaning down towards Sam once more Optimus promised the young man that they would do all that they could to find Mikaela.

"Really? Like you promised Lennox that you'd do everything you could to help him out? Yeah, ok. I need to go talk to Mikaela's dad. He's gonna freak when he hears this." Shaking his head Sam turned from Optimus and headed towards the exit. Stunned Prime remained where he had knelt.

Glancing up at Bumblebee, the younger bot held his eyes for a moment before looking away in guilt. Another look over his shoulder revealed Ratchet's hard look before he turned towards his medbay.

Optimus Prime vented softly. Sometimes he wondered just what these people expected of him. Running his hand down his facial plates, he heaved another ventilation. So much to do so…

Mikaela was missing. Mikaela was bonded to Wheeljack. Wheeljack more than likely knew now. Sweet Primus, this day **was** going to get worse.


End file.
